Sliding hopper gate operating mechanism



Feb. 20, 1962 w. 1 FLOEHR SLIDING HOPPER GATE OPERATING MECHANISM 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. l5, 1958 his Attorney Feb. 20, 1962 w. L. FLOEHR 3,021,798

SLIDING HOPPER GATE OPERATING MECHANISM Filed Aug. 13, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 4

Inventor;

Walter L. Floehr his Attorney Feb. zo, 1962 W. L. FLOEHR 3,021,798

SLIDING HOPPER GATE OPERATING MECHANISM Filed Aug. 13, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 his Atorney Feb. 20, 1962 W. L. FLoEHR 3,021,798

SLIDING HOPPER GATE OPERATING MECHANISM Filed Aug. 15, 1958 4 sheets-sheet 4 FIG. 9

FIG. IO

FIG. s 27 29 FIG. M FIG. f12 FIG. 45

Inventor:

Walter L. Floehr his Attorney 3,t321,7% SEEDING HIPER GATE OFERA'HNG MECHANISM Waiter L. Fioehr, Totedo, Ohio, assigner to Unitcast Corporation, Toiedo, hio, a corporation of @hito Fiied Aug. 13, i955, Ser. No. 754,834 e Ciaims. (Si. loi-I Z) This invention relates to mechanisms for operating a slide gate of a railway hopper car.

While slide gates have long been used for closing the discharge openings of hopper cars, the mechanisms heretofore used for operating such gates have not been very satisfactory. In the usual installation, the discharge gate is shifted to and from closed position by one or more pinions which engage a corresponding number of racks fixed to the underside of the gate and are keyed or fixed to the shaft at one end for receiving an actuating bar by which the pinion or pinions are turned. While the leverage provided by the actuating bar is adequate for controlling the discharge of certain types of lading, a particular problem is presented in a covered hopper car loaded with cement. Loaded hot or warm but invariably at a temperature higher than that of the car, the cement, on contact with the cooler surface on the car, produces some condensation which in turn forms a Weak cement, so termed because of lack of ller, which adheres to the surfaces of the car. The gate then being closed, the cement so formed bonds it in that position to the car body about the opening, rendering it difficult and often'impossible to open the door without using a Sledge hammer or like means to augment the leverage supplied by the actuating handle.

While the problem of bonding is peculiar to cement, another, confronted, as well, with other comminuted lading materials of comparable weight, is to shut off or regulate flow of such lading from the hopper during discharge. Here again, the leverage provided by the actuating bar acting through the capstan directly on the pinion shaft is of such order as to make it difcult to shift the gate from open position into the discharge opening against the ow of the discharging lading.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide an improved operating mechanism for a slide gate of a hopper car which, when actuated by an associated actuating bar, provides ample mechanical advantage for shifting the gate between open and closed positions at any time.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved operating mechanism for a slide gate of a hopper car, wherein the force provided by the actuating bar is increased to a level, adequate under any circumstances, by a gear train interposed between the bar-receiving capstan and the pinion shaft.

An additional object of the invention is to provide an improved operating mechanism for a slide gate of hopper car wherein there is interposed between the bar-receiving member and the pinion shaft a differential gearing having an inner, externally toothed reciprocal gear reciprocated by a crank driven by the member and engaging and driving an internally toothed outer gear connected for rotation to the pinion shaft, the differential gearing providing with a minimum of difference in the number of teeth in its gears a high mechanical advantage ample to enable the gate to be shifted by the actuating bar between open and closed positions under any circumstances.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter in the detailed description, be particularly pointed out in the appended claims and be illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view on a reduced scale relative to the other figures of a discharge gate assembly incorpospaties g Patented Feb. 20, i962 rating a preferred embodiment of the gate operating mechanism of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view of the assembly of FIGURE 1 applied to a hopper of a covered hopper car;

FIGURE 3 is an end elevational view of the structure of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a vertical sectional view taken along the lines 4 4 of FIGURE l; l

FIGURE 5 is a vertical sectional view taken along the lines 5 5 of FIGURE l;

FIGURE 6 is a vertical sectional view taken along the lines 6 6 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 7 is a vertical sectional view taken along the lines 7 7 of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 8 is a vertical sectional view taken along the lines 8 8 of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 9 is a side elevational view of the reciprocating gear of the differential gearing, the gear being shown removed from the associated structure of FIGURE 7;

FIGURE 10 is a side elevational view of the bearing in which the actuating end of the pinion shaft is journalled, the bearing being shown removed from the associated structure of FIGURE 8;

FIGURE 11 is an outer end elevational View of the crank shaft of the mechanism;

FIGURE 12 is a side elevational view of the crank shaft; and

FIGURE 13 is an end elevational view of the crank shaft.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, in which like reference characters designate like parts, the improved gate operating mechanism of the present invention, designated as 1, has been applied for purposes of illustration to a typical installation of a horizontally disposed slide or sliding discharge gate or door 2 for closing the bottom opening 3 in a hopper 4 ofa covered hopper car (not shown). With its frame 5 welded or otherwise xed to or rigid with the sides of the hopper 4 about the bottom opening 3, the slide gate 2 in closing position fits or seats in the frame S below the bottom opening of the hopper and above an open-bottomed chute 6 forming the lower portion of the frame. In opening', the gate 2 slides through a side opening 7 in the frame 5 onto transversely spaced side rails 8, the upper faces 9 of which form outward continuations of slideways or guideways 10 in opposite sides of the frame 5 on which the gate slides or rides and is supported. Connected at their inner ends, as by riveting, Vto the frame 5, the side rails 8 are joined at their outer ends by a cross tie 11 surmounting the side rails and serving to limit the outward movement of the gate.

Fixed or secured to and extending longitudinallyy of the underside 12 of the slide gate 2 are downwardly facing rack means, preferably in the form of transversely spaced parallel racks or rack bars 13, one disposed toward either side of the gate. .In the preferred construction, each of the racks i3 is drivably engaged by `an underlying pinion or pinion gear 14, the pinions being rigid with or secured or keyed to a common pinion shaft 15 extending transversely of or across the frame 5 beneath the gate 2. As is customary in such installations, there is mounted on the end of the frame 5, above the side opening 7 therein, a displaceable pawl or dog i6 disposed to yieldably engage the outer end i7 of the gate on opening of the latter, the pawl being scalable in gate-engaging position so as to indicate by breaking of its seal (not shown) unauthorized opening of the gate.

Designed to be actuated or rotated from one end 1S, here termed its outer, actuating or front end, the pinion vshaft I5 conveniently may be journalled at its opposite,

inner or rear end i9 in a sleeve bearing 2t? integral with the frame 5. The actuating or outer end 18 of the aanwas shaft 15 extends or projects through an aperture 2 in the adjoining side 22 of lthe frame 5 and is journalled in a bearing or bushing 23 forming part of the illustrated embodiment of the gate operating mechanism 1 of this invention and preferably removably inserted or seated in the aperture 21. Apart from the insert bearing 23, the gate operating mechanism is comprised of a housing 24- ixed, as by riveting, to the outer face 25 of 'the side wall 22 outwardly of and about the aperture 21. To restrain or hold the insert bearing 23 against rotation, the housing 24- has a pocket 26 at either side and a slot 27 in the bottom of its side wall 28, each adapted to receive and hold against relative rotary movement one of a plurality of registering iingers 29l outstanding and downstanding radially from the bearing.

In addition to 'the bearing 23, the housing 24 houses or contains the gearing or gear train 3l) of the mechanism. Herein 'termed difieren-tial, the gearing 36 includes an outer ring or annular gear 31 having a plurality of internal teeth 32 and an inwardly projecting integral concentric hub 33 iitting over or encircling and xed or secured, as by welding, to the outer end 18 of the pinion shaft 15 and extending through and directly engaging the bearing 23 so as -to journal therein both the gear itself and the pinion shaft. The differential gearing 36 also includes an inner annular or ring gear 34 having external teeth 35 intermeshable or engageable with the confronting internal teeth 32 of the outer gear 31. Unlike the outer gear 3l, the inner gear 34 is designed not to rotate but to reciprocate within the housing '24. To this end, its sleeve or ring portion from which its teeth 35 radially outstaud is axially extended or projected outwardly or forwardly beyond the outer edge or lip 37 of the outer gear 3l and has fixed or secured thereto a preferably integrally formed radially extending or projecting restraining arrn 3S having an outer preferably cylindrical or cylindrically convex bulbous end or knob '39 fitting somewhat loosely and adapted to ride or slide in a recess or concave seat 4d formed in the side wall 28 and opening onto the interior of the housing 24. The arm 3S has an intermediate web portion l overlyingand axially spaced outwardly from the outer lip 3'7 of the outer gear 31 and, to conserve space and at the same time provide adequate contact with the seat 40, its bulbous end 39 preferably instands substantially parallel to the axis and to the inner extremity of the inner gear 34.

Restrained against rotation by the containment of the outer end 39 of its restraining -arm 3S in the seat 40 outstanding radially from the interior of the housing 24, the inner gear 34 is caused to reciprocate by providing it with an axial or central bore 4t2 extending through it and adapted to receive and so mount the inner gear on a crank pin 43 of a crank 44, the crank shaft 45 of which conveniently has a reduced end portion i6 extending inwardly beyond the crank pin t3 and journalled or rotatably received in the contiguous outer end 1S of the pinion shaft 15, which for this purpose, as well as for lightness, is made hollow. Rotatably received in the bore 42 and eccentric to the crank shaft 45 and the pinion shaft 15, the crank pin 43 on rotation of the crank 44, imparts eccentric motion to the inner gear which, by reason of the restraining arm 33, takes the form of reciprocal or reciprocating motion or movement.

Journalled at its inner or rear end in the confronting end of the pinion shaft 15 and with the inner end portion 46 of its shaft 4S preferably contained or included radially by the crank pin 43 so as to be insertable through the axial bore 42 in the inner gear 34, the crank 44 is journalled at its outer or front end in a cylindrical throat or orilice 47 concentric with the pinion shaft 1S and the outer gear 31 and in and extending through a neck or reduced portion 43 forming the front or outer end portion of the housing 24. For this purpose, the crank, axially outwardly vof the crank pin, has la preferably enlarged, cylindrically surfaced head 49 forming part of its crank 'shaft e5 and rotatably seated in the throat 47. To hold the inner gear 34, when assembled, against axial shifting and thus in proper position to intermesh with the outer gear, the crank 44 intermediate its crank pin 43 and head 49, here has a radially outstanding llange 50 engageable inwardly with the outer or front end 5l of the inner gear 34 and outwardly with a rearwardly or inwardly facing shoulder 52 formed in the housing 24- about the throat 47.

Rotatable concentrically ofthe outer gear 31 and pinion shaft i5, the crank 44 is adapted to be rotated by providing its head 49 with a forwardly or outwardly facing axial socket 53 for seating or mating with a central or axial boss, protuberance, or hub 54 forming the rear or inner end portion of an operating capstan or actuating member 5S, the capstan preferably having a radially outstanding skirt 56 terminating in a rearwardly or inturned annular iiange 57, which encircles the front or outer portion of the head 49 and is adapted to bear endwise against the contiguous or confronting front or outer end :'53 of the neck lie. Having the usual plurality of circumerentially spaced forwardly inclined openings, seats or sockets S9 for selectively receiving or seating an end of an actuating or operating bar (not shown), and with its boss 54 and the mating socket 53 in the crank ed correspondingly rectangular or otherwise out-of-round in cross-section for interlocking it and the crank for rotation in unison, the capstan S5, on being rotated or turned by application of force to the actuating bar, will correspondingly rotate or turn the crank 44.

It has been mentioned that the crank pin 43, which is rotatable in and mounts or carries the inner gear 34, is eccentric to the crank shaft 455. This eccentricity, as determined by the length or radial extent between centers of the crank arm all, is made substantially equal to the Vdiierence between the pitch diameters of the outer gear 31 and the inner gear 34. Consequently, as the crank 44 is rotated under force of the actuating bar (not shown) transmitted through the capstan 55, the teeth 35 of the inner gear in sequence or successively are brought into engagement with the teeth 32 on the outer gear. Were the inner gear freely rotatable, this would accomplish nothing. However, with the inner gear held or restrained against rotation and limited to reciprocating movement by its restraining arm 38, movement of the inner gear 34 by the crank will cause the outer gear partially to turn or rotate on each full rotation of the crank. The extent of the partial turning of the outer gear equalling the are included by its teeth 32 in excess of the number of teeth 35 on the inner gear 34, the relative rotation of the outer and inner gears and thus the mechanical advantage derived from the differential gearing 30 is equal to the total number of teeth on the outer gear divided by the diierence between the numbers of teeth on the outer and inner gears. The gearing of the illustrated embodiment having twelve teeth on its outer gear 31 and ten on its inner gear 34, accordingly has a mechanical advantage of 6:1. This, added to the leverage exerted by the actuating bar (not shown) on the capstan 55 permits some 10,000 pounds of force to be applied through the conventional two-foot bar, a force more than adequate to both break any cementitious bond between the slide gate 2 and the frame 5 and to shift the gate inwardly against the ow of lading discharging through the discharge opening 3 to regulate or shut olf that ow as desired.

From the above detailed description, it will be apparent that there has been provided an improved mechanism for operating a slide gate for a hopper car which by interposing a dierential gear train between the actuated end ofthe mechanism and the pinionror pinions by which sliding motion is transmitted to the slide gate, is enabled to give the mechanism such a mechanical advantage that force applied to the mechanism through an actuating bar readily can move the slide gate as desired under any conditions encountered in service. It should be understood that the described and disclosed embodiment is merely exemplary of the invention and that all modifications are intended to be included which do not depart from either the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

Having described my invention, I claim:

l. In a slide gate assembly for closing a discharge opening of a hopper car, the combination with a frame attachable to said car about said opening, a slide gate horizontally slidable in said frame, rack means fixed to said slide gate, and pinion means engaging said rack means and having a shaft carried by said frame, of operating mechanism for said gate comprising a housing attached to a side of said frame about an end of said pinion shaft, an internally toothed outer gear in said housing and secured for rotation to said shaft, an externally toothed inner gear in said housing and meshing with said outer gear, means acting between said inner gear and housing for limiting said inner gear to reciprocal movement, and crank means in said housing concentric with said outer gear and eccentrically mounting said inner gear, said crank means on rotation reciprocating said inner gear and therethrough rotating said outer gear and shaft.

2. In a slide gate assembly for closing a discharge opening of a hopper car, the combination with a frame attachable to said car about said opening, a slide gate horizontally slidable in said frame, rack means fixed to said slide gate, and pinion means engaging said rack means and having a shaft carried by said frame, of operating mechanism for said gate comprising a housing attached to a side of said frame about an end of said pinion shaft, an internally toothed outer gear in said housing and secured for rotation to said shaft, an externally toothed inner gear in said housing and meshing with said outer gear, an arm extending radially from said inner gear and having an end riding in a radially extending recess in said housing for limiting said inner gear to reciprocal movement, and crank means in said housing concentric with said outer gear and eccentrically mounting said inner gear, said crank means on rotation reciprocating said inner gear and therethrough rotating said outer gear and shaft. Y

3. In a slide gate assembly for closing a discharge opening of a hopper car, the combination with a frame attachable to said car about said opening, a slide gate horizontally slidable in said frame, rack means xed to said slide gate, and pinion means engaging said rack means and having a shaft carried by said frame, of operating mechanism for said gate comprising a housing attached to said frame about an end of said shaft, an internally toothed outer gear in said housing and secured to said shaft for rotation therewith, a crank in said housing and rotatable concentrically with said outer gear and shaft, a crank pin on and eccentric of the crank shaft of said crank, an externally toothed inner gear carried by said crank pin in and meshing with said outer gear, and a restraining arm on and projecting radially from said inner gear and having an end riding in a radially extending slot in said housing for limiting said inner gear to reciprocal movement, said crank on rotation reciprocating and therethrough rotating said outer gear and shaft.

4. In a slide gate assembly for closing a discharge opening of a hopper car, the combination with a frame attachable to said car about said opening, a slide gate horizontally slidable in said frame, rack means fixed to said slide gate, and pinion means engaging said rack means and having a shaft carried by said frame, of operating mechanism for said gate comprising a housing attached to said frame about an end of said shaft, an internally toothed outer gear in said housing and secured to said shaft for rotation therewith, a crank in said housing and rotatable concentrically with said outer gear and shaft, a crank pin on an eccentric of the crank shaft of said crank, an externally toothed inner gear carried by said crank pin in and meshing with said outer gear, a'restraining arm on and projecting radially from said inner gear and having an end riding in a radially extending slot in said housing for limiting said inner gear to reciprocal movement, an outof-round socket in an outer end of said crank, and a capstan having a correspondingly configured end seatable in said socket for transmitting rotative force to said crank, said crank on rotation reciprocating and therethrough rotating said outer gear and shaft.

5. ln a slide gate assembly for closing a discharge opening of a hopper car, Ithe combination with a frame attachable to said car about said opening, a slide gate horizontally slidable in said frame, rack means fixed to said slide gate, and pinion means engaging said rack means and having a shaft carried by said frame, of operating mechanism for said gate comprising a housing attached to a side of said frame outwardly of and about an aperture therein receiving an end of said pinion shaft, an internally toothed outer gear in said housing and having a hub encircling and secured to said shaft for rotation therewith, a bearing removably inserted in said aperture for journalling said hub, a crank extending axially through said housing and having its shaft journalled at its inner end in said pinion shaft and at its outer end in a throat in said housing for rotation concentrically of said outer gear and shaft, an eccentric crank pin on said crank, an externally toothed inner gear rotatably mounted on said crank pin in and meshing with said outer gear, a restraining arm on and projecting radially from said inner gear and having an outer end riding in a radially extending recess in said housing for limiting said inner gear to reciprocal movement, an outwardly opening outof-round axial socket in an outer end of said crank, and a capstan having a correspondingly out-of-round boss seatable in said socket for transmitting rotative force to said crank, said crank on rotation reciprocating said inner gear and therethrough rotating said outer gear and pinion shaft.

6. in a slide gate assembly for closing a discharge opening of a hopper car, the combination with -a frame attachable to said car about said opening, ya slide gate horizontally slidable in said frame, rack means fixed to said slide gate, and pinion means engaging said rack means and having a shaft carried by said frame, of operating mechanism for said gate comprising a housing attached to a side of said frame outwardly of and about an aperture therein receiving an end of said pinion shaft,k an internally toothed outer gear in said housing and having a hub encircling and secured to said shaft for rotation therewith, a bearing removably inserted in said aperture for journalling said hub, a crank extending axially through said housing and having an outer end portion and a relatively restricted inner end portion of its shaft journalled respectively in an adjacent end of said pinion shaft and a concentric throat in said housing concentrically with said outer gear and pinion shaft, a crankY pin on said crank intermediate and eccentric to said iriner and outer portions of said crank shaft, a peripheral flange on said crank intermediate said crank pin and outer end portion of said crank shaft and engageable outwardly with a shoulder on said housing for limiting axial movement of said crank relative thereto, an externally toothed inner gear mounted on said crank pin in and meshing with and having a lesser number of teeth than said outer gear, said inner gear being held in assembled relation in said outer gear by engagement of an outer end thereof with said peripheral flange, a restraining arm integral with and projecting radially from said inner gear and having an outer end riding in a radially extending recess in said housing for limiting Said inner gear to reciprocal movement, an outwardly opening out-of-round axial socket in an outer end of said crank, and a capstan having a correspondingly out-of-round axial boss seatable in said socket for transmitting rotative force to said crank, said crank on rotameme@ tion reciprocating said .inner gear and therethrough rotaing said outer gear and pinion shaft.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 81,952 Shaw Sept. 8, 1868 100,769 Jewsbury Mar. 15, 1870 271,556 Waters Jan. 30, 1883 886,938 Brush May 5, 1908 955,458 Hampton Apr. 19, 1910 10 El) Granville une 1, 1915 OConnor Apr. 12, 1921 OConnor 1an. 23, 1923 Laze Sept. 4, 1951 Bah'o Sept. 28, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Feb. 8, 1906 Great Britain Sian. 12, 1895 

